Osklen (Q1643)
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Brazilian business
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Osklen |
Brazilian business |
Statements
1990
founder and style director
When people talk of concepts like legacy and heritage in relation to fashion, it’s often in the abstract. That’s not the case at Osklen; through his foundation (Instituto-e) and ASAP movement (as sustainable as possible—as soon as possible), founder Oskar Metsavaht is very much engaged with social and environmental issues and is working to support his fellow Brazilians and preserve the country’s beautiful nature, which, with the Amazon burning, has never been more important. A man of action, Metsavaht’s implementing sustainability in varied ways: There are tube dresses (perfect for layering) in silk made from cocoons, and the designer’s known for using fish leather. The macrame bags and shoes accessorizing the Spring collection gave work to (and preserved the skills of) local craftspeople.Also working on this collection alongside design director Juliana Suassuna was Metsavaht’s oldest daughter, Caetana. She grew up in the business but also studied design, and the Spring lineup is described in the press materials as her first for the brand. She came out swinging. Titled Janiero, a festive month in Brazil, these were the clothes equivalent of a summer vacation. Yes, there was swimwear, but the standout pieces were basic silhouettes—caftans, kimonos, jumpsuits, wide-legged pants—in wonderful prints like what might be described as a New Wave palm pattern and a beach scene reproduced from the original artwork of Caetana’s aunt. Some of the check pieces were unnecessarily complicated, but the linen looks (for men and women) were as refreshing as a Caipirinha, with cross-stitch motifs like pineapples or a seascape. Clearly, life’s a beach at Osklen.
19 September 2019
Osklen founder Oskar Metsavaht is still emphasizing his ASAP concept, which stands for As Sustainable as Possible, As Soon as Possible. The Spring 2019 ASAP collection was ocean themed and designed to highlight environmental crises like pollution and overfishing. The clothes did not reflect this much, however, as they fell more closely into the category of beachy resortwear, like caftans printed with bananas and pineapples.The collection’s strong point was a single watercolor print of a blue crab, brushed on a white midi skirt and collared top. It was developed with Casa do Cacete, an illustrators’ collective that aims to help children from the struggling region of Santa Luzia do Itanhy in the Brazilian state of Sergipe. In collaboration, Osklen invited a group of Santa Luzia do Itanhy high school students to its headquarters, where they created the little crab and learned how to upload and render it on the computer (the aim being to teach them artistic and technical skills that may be useful). It was a lovely image, made lovelier by the socially responsible values that lay behind it.
14 September 2018
Osklen’s latest collection revolves around the acronym ASAP, which here stands for “As Sustainable As Possible.” The Brazilian label has long championed sustainable fashion in its home country, most memorably through its use of salmon leather, but decided this season to double down on its efforts with a dedicated line called e-basics. The titular basics are all made from sustainable raw materials: recycled cottons in a range of textures, some made from unsold Osklen samples, and recycled PET fibers worked into twill and fleece.These e-basics were deliberately made in fairly neutral colors (olive green, black, speckled white) and silhouettes (loose-fit tees, matching sweats) to become part of a permanent line. To go with them, there were a few camo and jaguar prints to liven things up, and a T-shirt printed with a timeline of the modern sustainability movement, from the Stockholm U.N. Conference on Human Environment in 1972 to the Cop21 Paris Agreement from 2015. The core simplicity of this season’s offering makes it hard to critique, but Osklen’s mission to preserve our environment is beyond reproach.
12 February 2018
For Spring 2018, Osklen presented a special men’s and women’s capsule collection to honor Tarsila do Amaral, the ’20s and ’30s art icon whose expressive Modernist paintings still resonate in her native Brazil. Osklen, itself a Brazilian label, was approached by Do Amaral’s family a year ago, as they hoped to time a fashion collaboration with two upcoming exhibitions: her first individual retrospective at the Art Institute of Chicago next month and one at MoMA in February.And so, Do Amaral’sTarsilasketches andCidadeprints were meticulously screen-printed onto silks and linens. A black ink drawing of a nude woman in repose decorated the sleeve of an otherwise simple white blouse; it was also worked into sculptural gold earrings. A flat-color painting ofBrasilieros(Brazilian people) defined a loosely draped, one-shoulder dress, revealed to be a jumpsuit only when one walked in it. In the Osklen showroom, a representative noted the powerful reds in the collection (red was a favorite of Do Amaral), as on a silk dress with a detachable obi belt. Beyond the prints, the dominant shape was sculpted crop tops with loose, wide bottoms that the brand hoped would combine feminine and masculine elements.
12 September 2017
For Spring 2018, Osklen presented a special men’s and women’s capsule collection to honor Tarsila do Amaral, the ’20s and ’30s art icon whose expressive Modernist paintings still resonate in her native Brazil. Osklen, itself a Brazilian label, was approached by Do Amaral’s family a year ago, as they hoped to time a fashion collaboration with two upcoming exhibitions: her first individual retrospective at the Art Institute of Chicago next month and one at MoMA in February.And so, Do Amaral’sTarsilasketches andCidadeprints were meticulously screen-printed onto silks and linens. A black ink drawing of a nude woman in repose decorated the sleeve of an otherwise simple white blouse; it was also worked into sculptural gold earrings. A flat-color painting ofBrasilieros(Brazilian people) defined a loosely draped, one-shoulder dress, revealed to be a jumpsuit only when one walked in it. In the Osklen showroom, a representative noted the powerful reds in the collection (red was a favorite of Do Amaral), as on a silk dress with a detachable obi belt. Beyond the prints, the dominant shape was sculpted crop tops with loose, wide bottoms that the brand hoped would combine feminine and masculine elements.
12 September 2017
Oskar Metsavaht is a man of many trades: He’s a physician, artist, entrepreneur, documentary filmmaker, creator, and style director. Unsurprisingly, those disciplines wind up informing one another on occasion.Osklen’s latest offering takes inspiration from a film project Metsavaht is working on, a production about an artist who travels to Antarctica.The collection’s palette drew upon a snowy landscape at sunset: There were pale pinks and blues—most beautifully on a cashmere sweater and a filmy sheer dress—as well as stark whites and khakis. Details like parachute cords, zippered vents, and oversize utilitarian pockets also brought to mind outdoor expeditions; a favorite included a unisex oversize anorak. Taking their inspiration quite literally, some of the Tyvek pieces featured scattered lines of the film’s script; a nice touch to invite a second look (or read, as it were) on an otherwise plain item. That is a bit of a theme for Osklen this season. The brand tried to take basic staples and add unconventional twists, something special. One of the strongest efforts was in the men’s lineup: A series of sweatshirts—hoodies, crewneck, and short-sleeve—was fused with dress shirts. Also effective was the knitwear—in bright blue, yellow, and safety orange—that came with inventive overlays and wrapping details, such as a skirt fused over pants, or a sweater that tied at the neck. The shoes are hard to describe; I’m going to go with “puffy leather slippers.” They seemed to be influenced, perhaps, by the kind of hardy puffer coats Arctic explorers might wear—and, as is sometimes the case in fashion, they hit all the right notes for reasons not fully understood.
11 February 2017
Oftentimes, innovation is borne out of limitation. Such is the case withOsklen, a brand whose commitment to sustainability and ethical production practices precludes it from working with certain materials, like python or stingray. Still craving the look of exotic skins, founder Oskar Metsavaht decided to look elsewhere; what he found was a tannery in Brazil that had started to make hides from the skins of the incredibly sized Pirarucu fish. Until recently, those had been discarded once the meat was sold—but now the skin, which has large scales but feels not unlike leather, adorns Osklen’s expanded accessory collection, including bags, sneakers, wallets—even a surfboard. It’s an exotic skin that the conscious customer can get behind without sacrificing on style or luxury. Similarly, the brand found a way to make its silk offerings as sustainable and ethical as possible by collaborating with a silkworm farm in Italy that uses innovative practices to extract the silk.Yet for all the do-goodery, there was plenty of romance to the collection. Metsavaht dreamed up an imaginary island, named Monbupurih—an amalgamation of some of his favorite beachside spots—where a glamorous artist and biologist couple reside. “In their evenings by the beach, their dreams mingle and dive into an imaginary space where the stars shine below and the sea and the colorful ocean floor merges with the cosmos,” reads the linesheet.Lofty though it sounds, that ethos translated beautifully to the simple silk dresses and pants—made to be layered—and the linen shirts that came ingeniously adorned with removable neoprene and Swarovski crystal–embellished collars and cuffs. Also of note: the tropical-printed scarves, made to be worn as dresses, skirts, and sarongs, which deserve a spot in any globetrotter’s suitcase, real or imagined.
14 September 2016
Earth Day was less than two months ago, and at the time, it felt like everyone was talking about sustainable fashion—not just environmentally, but socially and economically, too. It’s safe to say people are thinking differently about consumption these days, and there’s a desire to learn more about what we’re buying, but sustainability is still something that can slip our minds on a day-to-day basis.Osklen’s Oskar Metsavaht was ahead of the curve in prioritizing sustainability. As the founder of Instituto-E, he’s developed six “e-fabrics” that are completely sustainable and make up the bulk of his collections. For Resort, there were breezy striped linens, silks, and soft cottons, all in earthy tones of olive, cream, and taupe. While past collections featured more embellishments and high-fashion flourishes, Metsavaht let the fabrics do most of the talking here; on loose, flowing silhouettes, there was a sense of peace and calm. “Escapism” was also on Metsavaht’s mind: Osklen is a Brazilian brand, and the weather in that country is balmy almost year-round, but American shoppers might pick up his ribbed-knit bikinis and caftans before a holiday vacation.Bigger news for Osklen was an expanded range of accessories in his signature pirarucu skin. For the uninitiated, the pirarucu is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, is native to the Amazon, and has giant scales. Metsavaht’s slip-on sneakers and bags might appear to be made from a softer version of crocodile—or, at least, embossed leather—but it’s actually the skin of a fish. The pirarucu is a commonly consumed food in Brazil, but the skins are typically thrown out as waste, so Metsavaht started working with farmers to safely farm the pirarucu, which in turn keeps the species from becoming endangered, protects the Amazon, and supports the local economy. He also uses salmon skins for shoes and bags—at first glance, it looks like python. “People don’t think sustainability can be sophisticated,” he said. “I’m showing that there can be a new balance between sustainable fashion and luxury.”
15 June 2016
Founder: Oskar MetsavahtYear established: 1989Known for: Refined but relaxed womenswear, with plenty of loose silhouettesStocked at: Osklen stores around the world, including those in New York and Miami
29 April 2016